How to budget

Do you know how to budget and avoid having money worries? For it to work, you must stick to the budget that you make. All budgets are made by the same, easy to understand, method. Your financial plan has only two columns but may contain many rows. The left-most column of the budget is for your earnings. Your expenses are listed in the right-most column. The left-hand column sum is always made to equal the right-hand column total. If the income line sub-total is bigger than the outgoings column total then monthly savings make up the variation to the total. If the outgoings are more than the income total then a deficit makes up the difference to the sum. The income column is for listing all your wages and other earnings for the month. Don’t forget to include your wages from part-time work. In learning how to budget, don’t forget that government benefits and sales commissions are also part of your income. Your costs, in the column to the right, are your payments for accommodation, utilities, etc.. Your number of budget rows for outgoings will always be more numerous than the number of rows for monthly income. Don’t waste your efforts in too much detail for expenditure. Anything less than 10 dollars/Euros/pounds per month can be lumped into just one row. Ideally, your regular expenditure is lower than your wages. In this case, you are able to save money every month for your future needs. If this is the first time that you’re grappling with how to budget, your outgoings may be greater than your salary. If this is your situation then you have to make changes. The magnitude of your adjustment depends upon the size of the gap between what you earn and your outgoings. If the monthly deficit is small then only small changes may be needed. You could solve the problem with less money spent on entertainment and vacations. Bigger monthly deficits require bigger changes. You could have to downsize your housing or you might need to sell one of your vehicles. There is another solution to your problem if your regular outgoings exceed your income. That is, you could increase your earnings to wipe out your deficit. Additionally, you could possibly desire to boost your income for other reasons. You may want to increase your savings to finance future projects. These could be exclusive vacations or expensive vehicles. Additionally, emergencies and retirement may be of concern to you if you haven’t learned how to budget before. It’s far cheaper to finance emergencies from your savings than through credit. Emergency credit can cost you 30% more than if you use your own savings. Delayed savings for retirement cost proportionately more for each decade that you delay making investments.

If you do adhere to your budget then there are several rewards for having knowledge of how to budget. Many people worry tremendously about their financial situation. This mental stress can sometimes affect spiritual wellbeing and physical health. A balanced budget that works every month reduces worry for these people. You may have spending dreams for some time in the future. Or, do you aim to eliminate your credit card debt within two years? A financial plan is a good framework for organizing your money. It’s really up to you as to how restrictive the budget is. Only you can control your personal budget performance.